


Last Christmas

by Firelord124



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hinata Hajime is in Class 77, Angst with a Happy Ending, CAROLLING, Christmas Music, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, christmasau, painful memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21831238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firelord124/pseuds/Firelord124
Summary: The class plans to go carolling together at Christmas time, but Fuyuhiko is dreading the upcoming event. Luckily, Hinata is there to help.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	Last Christmas

_“No.”_

“Can’t you at least consider it? It’ll be fun!”

Fuyuhiko crossed his arms belligerently, and gave out a loud, exasperated snort that brought all conversation in the classroom briefly to a halt. With everyone’s eyes trained on him, he began to turn a bright shade of red. 

“What’s the problem here?” Hinata asked, striding over to where Fuyuhiko was conversing with Mioda, who was still dramatically gesturing, waving her arms about excitedly. Fuyuhiko began to scowl, as he turned towards Hinata.

“She’s trying to get me to participate in carolling.” Fuyuhiko replied, in the same tone as if he was given a death sentence. “Door-to-door.”

Hinata drew in a breath quickly. Ibuki had always been enthusiastic about Christmas carolling, and in this particular year, the classroom teacher had finally given her permission to bring the rest of the class carolling together, in order to raise funds for a local Christmas charity. Hinata suspected that the teacher’s decision was not made in the interest of carolling or charity per se, but more as a result of a gradual wearing down every Christmas, as Ibuki incessantly repeated her demand year after year.

“It’ll be a great experience!” Ibuki argued, her eyes still focused entirely on Fuyuhiko, “Ibuki’s already prepared a list of songs we could all sing! Look!”

Pulling out her phone, Ibuki displayed a colourful playlist of Christmas songs, and began scrolling down. It was a long playlist by anyone’s standards, and Hinata could understand Fuyuhiko’s consternation, which grew more pronounced the more scrolling Ibuki did, until finally he turned away quickly, and made a non-commital noise. Frighteningly, Ibuki was only halfway through her list.

“I will not be singing _‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’_ , thank you very much!” he snapped, striding away from a disappointed Ibuki.

“What about _‘Santa Claus is Coming-’”_

“NO!”

And with that, the yakuza left the room hastily. Peko followed after him, a concerned look on her face.

“What’s got Fuyuhiko riled up?” Kazuichi demanded, from the opposite side of the room. He was fiddling with a mechanical device he had put on his desk, and was in the process of disassembling it. He placed down his screwdriver beside it, and looked at Hinata, who gave him an awkward shrug and a faint grin.

“He didn’t like the idea of carolling very much.”

“I don’t think I like it very much, either,” Kazuichi signed, cupping his face in his hands. “I can’t sing for anything.”

“Then why did you accept? You know that there’s other options besides carolling, right?” It was a rule of the class that they had do _some_ activity over the last few days of classes, and carolling was only one of the options. However, considering that the other options were limited to paperwork, or dusting, carolling suddenly seemed to be a sensational idea. 

“Of course!” Kazuichi stuttered, for once embarrassed. “It’s just that Miss Sonia volunteered.”

Hinata gave a non-committed nod. Sonia had instantly taken to the idea of carolling; apparently, it wasn’t very common in her country. She had been one of the first to volunteer.

“Indeed,” Gundham interjected, a bit too loudly, “and therefore I have also decided to give this trivial activity a try, even if it appeases only the simple desires of you mere mortals. Though,” he noted, as his hamsters steadily emerged from his scarf, “the Devas of Destruction do also seem to take a liking to it.”

Kazuichi gave Gundham a quick glare while the other’s back was turned, grabbed his screwdriver from the table, and forcefully shoved it into the metal device with a scowl on his face. Hinata could only sign internally, and hope that this would not turn into a repeat of what happened between the two of them in what has become known as the “Picnic Incident”, which had taken place last term on a class picnic. The day had since became taboo, and a select few could still evoke expressions of fright on their faces as they recalled what had happened. Mikan could barely refrain from having a panic attack; even Hiyoko had nervously evaded the topic.

Speaking of which, the traditional dancer seemed less denigrating today, as she chatted with Mahiru, who was sitting in front of her. Mahiru had volunteered to take pictures of the group while they were singing, and Hiyoko had jumped on board when she was allowed to perform some of dancing instead of actually singing. Hinata secretly gave her some points for thinking of _that_ loophole.

“I hope he joins us,” Nekomaru growled, cutting in on Hinata’s thoughts. “The more the merrier! I, for one, will be cheering him on!” He and Akane had volunteered almost immediately. They had been eagerly listening to carols for the past few days, in what seemed like preparation for the big night. Nekomaru had, oddly enough, secretly told Hinata (in a loud voice, so practically everyone knew) that he was even choosing appropriate matching outfits for Akane and himself.

Hinata gave a nervous smile, remembering the look that Fuyuhiko had on his face when Ibuki had ran over to him, and excitedly began telling him of the carolling. It had been a look of astonished terror, mixed with what seemed like sadness.

Hinata frowned at the memory; it was not common for the yakuza to show sadness in any way, especially in something so trivial as a festive celebration. He briefly began to consider the idea that he had simply misinterpreted the expression on Fuyuhiko’s face, when the loud sound of Ibuki singing _'All I Want For Christmas Is You'_ , rang throughout the room. Everyone began to get stony expressions, and moved silently away from her. It had been already quite a struggle to persuade Ibuki that including her own songs in the playlist would not be fitting. Getting her to tone down her volume would be impossible.

Attempting to ignore the singing, Hinata decided to visit Fuyuhiko in his dormitory, as soon as he had the time. There was a small feeling of doubt inside of him, that grated against him like a pebble in his shoe. 

\---

When Hinata approached the door to Fuyuhiko’s dormitory, he realised it was locked. Tapping lightly on the door, he noted that there seemed to be muffled sounds inside, before the lock was released and the door was tentatively opened, and Peko peered out of the doorway, towards Hinata.

“Is something the matter? I think that my young master would rather be left-”

“Jeez, Peko! I told you not to call me that!” Hinata heard Fuyuhiko exclaim from inside the room.  
Hinata shook a little at the intensity of Peko’s stare on him. Something was clearly wrong.  
Before Hinata could make some comment, Fuyuhiko continued:

“Whoever’s at the door, piss off! I don’t want to talk!”

Peko gave Hinata a look that clearly but silently repeated Fuyuhiko’s command, and remained in the doorway, until Hinata had retreated down the corridor. The door closed with a soft thump, and he heard the sound of the lock click once more. Hinata turned around again, but the door remained firmly shut, and it seemed no possible force could prise it open. 

\---

“What about some cocktail sausages? I’m sure they’ll leave quite an impression when you insert them into your mouth!”

Teruteru poured over the menu he had drafted, his chef’s hat askew. He had himself suggested the idea of a celebratory feast after the carolling, as a sort of reward for all the singing that the group was to do (and also all the times they had to put up with Ibuki’s energetic screeching). Hinata had managed to force down the growing feeling of dread at Fuyuhiko’s isolation, at least for now, and was helping the chef finalise the menu for the upcoming day. Emphasis on _finalise_. Hinata saw that persuading the chef to make any changes to the menu, however minute, would be laughingly improbable.

“How would we serve them?” Hinata asked, looking at the menu over the chef’s shoulder. Teruteru’s list was almost as long as Ibuki’s music list, and he seemed just as excited. This did not bode well. 

Teruteru’s eyes grew darker, and he made a gesture with his fingers.

“Like this! With small toothpicks! You dunk it in the tomato sauce, and then-”

Hinata looked on as Teruteru very slowly and sensually mimed shoving a sausage into his mouth. He gave a nervous nod, and watched as the chef continued with the other items on the menu. His mind began to wonder, the instance he saw that Teruteru was going through the items on the menu more for himself than anyone else, and that he had probably forgotten Hinata’s presence already. His thoughts strayed back to Fuyuhiko. 

It was now universally understood in the class that Hinata was one of the few people who could penetrate the walls that Fuyuhiko set around himself, and be admitted into the circle of the yakuza’s inner confidantes. It was not an instantaneous thing, Hinata remembered. It was more of a gradual process, in which everyone in the class, including himself, finally pieced the pieces together, and realised that Hinata and Fuyuhiko were officially friends, and perhaps also a little more than that. It crept up upon everyone, and took everyone by surprise. 

One of the first signs was probably the instances in which Fuyuhiko seemed to turn up a disproportionate amount of times into Hinata’s daily routine, more so than anyone else. He would be revising for an upcoming exam alone, or chatting with his close friends, only to realise that he was privy to a silent onlooker, who was sitting just a few tables away, or straying just to the sides of his friend group, never really joining in, and disregarding everyone else but him.

The second sign was when Peko began paying more attention to him; he suddenly realised that he was on the receiving end of quite a lot of her stares, silent but penetrating in their depth. She was presumably, in hindsight, assessing him, and what kind of threat he could have posed. Hinata could only wonder at how seriously she took the task. Presumably, Fuyuhiko’s friendship was something to be earned, and approved of, not just by the yakuza himself. Then, on one trivial day, Fuyuhiko had simply strode up to Hinata’s table, in class, and initiated a conversation right there, with the teacher absent. His golden eyes had looked into Hinata, but in a different way that Peko’s had done. His eyes held the promise of friendship, and Hinata had realised that Fuyuhiko was opening up, right in front of him. 

One of the most obvious signs (Hinata could not remember this without the beginnings of a blush) was during the end of class, when most of his classmates had left the room. Everyone had presumably had a seed of suspicion sowed into their minds on the growing relationship between the two, but the sprout was still to emerge. Fuyuhiko had blushed, for the first time, in front of Hinata, and loosely held out, in his hand, a single rose. 

“Is that what I think it means?” He recalled himself asking.

“Not so loud, dumbass!” was the dignified reply.

From then on, with both parties aware of each other’s mutual devotion, their maneuvers became less and less subtle. Hinata would regularly brush his hand across Fuyuhiko’s, first beneath a desk, and then, gradually, out in the open, but only for the briefest of seconds. Both would blush madly, and become incapable of human speech for the next few minutes. 

So, for Fuyuhiko to lock himself away from Hinata like this - the pain stung. Hinata felt that they were going backwards in their intimacy, that Fuyuhiko was constructing yet another barrier, just when he thought he had gained his boyfriend’s complete trust. He felt Fuyuhiko receding away from him. But then again-

Teruteru was making another suggestive movement with his hands and wrist, perhaps because they had gotten to… Hinata half-mindedly looked down to the menu … The banana split ice cream? It was hard to tell, as the picture had the ice cream, for some reason, inside the banana peels. He did not linger on this thought for long, as his central worry pulled him back in.

But, if Fuyuhiko could trust no one but Peko, who had been with him since birth, was this problem related to his family or siblings…? 

“And then you must _peel_ the skin away to reveal the delicate creamy goodness within, which you could then suck up with your mouth… What do you say?”

Caught suddenly in the awkward silence, Hinata said the first thing that came to mind:

“I, er, say that it would certainly be very rewarding.”

He made a mental note to kick himself when he was back in his dormitory. Teruteru gave a satisfied nod.

“Of course! Of course! I promise you it would be so! I don’t think what that little boyfriend of yours has could even come close to matching this banana in size!”

Hinata very nearly had a fit. He made a single sharp movement. 

Teruteru made a placating gesture, perhaps realising, finally, he had pushed too far.

“Speaking of whom,” his voice dropping, Teruteru gave Hinata a brief look of concern, and Hinata realised, for once, that Teruteru had dropped his sexual fantasies.

“I haven’t seen him since he ran out of the classroom, following Ibuki’s attempt to get him to do carolling. What was the matter?”

Hinata heaved a sign, and wished that he had a better answer to give.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t been seeing anyone but Peko.”

Teruteru gave this a moment’s thought, before a smirk slowly made its way back across his face. Hinata felt his insides fall when he saw it. 

“Looks like you have competition for his wild, untamed heart, huh? The little baby gangsta going all out on Peko there!” With a single, lurid movement, he turned on the gas burners beside him to full, the flames instantly leaping up vigorously from the stove.

Hinata felt himself becoming faint.

\---

“Okay, so you stand here, in the second row! Ibuki will stand in front and lead the group!”

Everyone in the class, sans Peko and Fuyuhiko, was standing awkwardly at the front of the classroom, with Ibuki standing across from them. She was squinting at them from different angles, trying to work out the best configuration for carolling.

“Wait, why are _you_ to lead us? I don’t want this turning into a dysfunctional wreck, like pig-barf over there!”

 _Hiyoko does have a point,_ Hinata thought to himself. Ibuki solely leading the organisation would probably lead to some kind of ‘unforeseen’ disaster, squabbles, or rows. _I mean, who in their right mind would put Gundham, Sonia and Kazuichi right next to each other?_

Most probably, seeing as Sonia had intimate connections to Gundham, and Kazuichi to Sonia, Ibuki had thought it would bring out the festive spirit in all three, if they were organised together. Of course, what had actually been the case was two out of the three ended up glaring at each other when they thought the other person wasn’t looking, and the third, in the centre, was standing awkwardly still, trying to ignore the silent argument taking place around her.

Ever ignorant of the fissures in her organisation, Ibuki gave Hinata an encouraging smile, as he clambered to the second row, besides Nekomaru, who playfully gave him a pat on the shoulder, that almost sent him sprawling forwards.

Chiaki, who was on his other side, inclined her head to the side when Ibuki was focusing on Teruteru’s position (the front row, where most people could see him and he could see most people, by the way).

“So what’s up with you and -”

Hinata winced.

“Does _everyone_ have to ask me that?”

Chiaki gave him a sympathetic look; being Hinata’s first acquaintance in the class, out of their shared love for video games, she was apt to be more considerate towards her fellow gamer. She had realised that this dynamic has become more complex now that Fuyuhiko was included as an additional factor, but she had decided to take it in her stride, despite never being too close to him, nor he to her. 

“You are really the only person in the class, besides from Peko, who could properly interact with him,” she remarked. “If there’s anyone who could get to what’s really bothering him, it’d be you.”

Hinata grimaced, and for an instant did not reply. She felt a twinge that she had probably gone too far this time. When he spoke, his voice was strained, and he steadfastly avoided her eye contact.

“He’s not giving me the chance to. I don’t think this would end well at all, with all this repression.”

Chiaki took a moment to digest this information, and to formulate an appropriate reply.

“It’s not like him to actually miss out on anything, even if it is just carolling practice,” she remarked. “I remember that he even turned up for the late night horror movie marathon, although he made a big fuss about just wanting to ‘see what lame-ass movies you guys think is entertainment’. I think,” she slowly spoke, deciding on the precise wording, “he is dealing with some painful past memories, perhaps something to do with his family.” 

It was softly spoken, but for the first time, Hinata made eye contact with her. There was a trace of astonishment on his face, but no signs of disbelief. _So he had already realised this, too,_ Chiaki thought.

“It is not healthy to repress anything, especially if you try to hide it all away from others. Although it is presumably traumatic, you need to find a way to get him to tell it to you.”

Hinata stared at her in silent agreement. Just then, their conversation was stopped when Ibuki, panting slightly from directing everyone to their places, clambered in front of the group, facing them. She was wearing a small Santa hat, perched precariously on her head.

“Alright! Who wants to start some carolling!”

There was a wave of feeble cheering, all of which were from Nekomaru and Akane. Ibuki looked horrified. Hiyoko smirked, standing off to the side of the main group, in her dancing garb.

\---

 _Fuyuhiko needs to leave his room sometime,_ Hinata thought, standing in the corridor. He avoided the thought that he would seem like a stalker to an outside observer, and carefully waited for some sign, from within, that the gangster was leaving the room.

A cough sounded from behind him, and he turned swiftly around. Peko was standing some distance behind him, down the corridor. She had on a disapproving look, and let him walk towards her, before saying calmly:

“My young master does not want to see anyone yet, Hinata.” Even in the bright light, the tone of her voice, and her expression, made the hallway seem bleak. She was trying to maintain her expressionless facade, but Hinta could tell that she was tired and worried. 

Hinata held a hand out, in a placating gesture.

“Please, Peko, if you’d just let me talk to him-”

“I don’t think he’s in the right mood,” Peko said slowly, her eyes averted from Hinata’s own gaze. “He’s been very downcast.”

“And I can help with that! I realise he’s under a lot of emotional pain, but it’s better off letting it out and sharing the burden.”

Peko gave the slightest hints of a weary smile.

“And you think that I haven’t tried to do that?”

“It’s very difficult for just one other person,” Hinata reasoned calmly, trying to hide his growing desperation. “It would be much more effective if I can help you. You know I can be trusted.”

There was a silence, as Peko considered Hinata silently. Hinata could feel his nervousness starting up again; he pushed it down, and hoped that it did not show on his face. After a long, momentous silence, Peko gave a swift nod of assent.

“I will see if my young master is ready.”

Together, they strode towards the door, and Peko tapped on the door in a specific rhythm, that was presumably a code she had invented with Fuyuhiko. There was a noise of assent form inside, and she pushed the door open slowly.

Hinata had been expecting a messy room, with items scattered about and with less than careful attention to organisation. Instead, he saw that everything was as it was before; apart from the bed, which was not made, everything else was stored neatly where it should be; there was, however, an empty bag of what seemed like take-away food, in addition to a carton of fried dough cookies spread on the desk. The occupant was sitting stiffly on the bed, his back towards them. When Hinata and Peko entered the room, he turned around, only to react in surprise at seeing Hinata, before quickly averting Hinata’s eyes. 

Still averting his gaze from Hinata, Fuyuhiko focused on Peko, and said hoarsely:

“I didn’t say you could bring him with you, Peko.”

“He insisted, young master,” Peko replied, walking further into the room. Fuyuhiko heaved a sign.

“You know I don’t like you to call me that.” He turned his gaze downward, toward the ground. 

Hinata decided that now was the time to get Fuyuhiko to trust him with whatever he was holding back. Steeling himself, he said lightly:

“Fuyuhiko, I know the idea of carolling is terrible to you, but-” He saw Fuyuhiko’s muscles tense under the suit the yakuza was wearing, but Fuyuhiko still did not meet his gaze. Still, Hinata made himself continue:

“-but I can help you with this, and -”

“Hajime, if this is some shitty way to get me to participate in that fucking carolling, I’ll-”

Hinata quickly made a non-commital noise, well aware that he was treading on highly charged ground. He needed to choose his next words carefully, and with every second that passed, he was aware that Fuyuhiko was becoming more and more uncomfortable, as Hinata came closer to Fuyuhiko’s weak point. This may be the only opportunity he had of turning this situation around. 

“It’s not that at all! What you’re doing really worries me, Fuyuhiko.”

Fuyuhiko did not move his gaze up, nor did he reply. Hinata bit his lip, and continued chipping away.

“I understand why you’d want to avoid something that hurts you, but you can’t hide from it forever by staying in your room. It’s … It’s breaking your defenses now, weakening you psychologically and physically, the longer you stay here. Peko and I can help you, along with everyone else, if you’d just-”

Fuyuhiko gave a _tch_ in frustration, before breaking out into a bitter laugh.

“Really, Hajime? And just who else _would_ care about me in that class? I don’t trust anyone else there, so why the fuck would they go all lovey-dovey on me at all?”

Fuyuhiko continued to laugh, and Hinata was chilled by the anger within it. It was the first time that he had heard it, and he hoped that it would be the last. The thin laugh spread throughout the room, only stopping with a wheezing cough. Hinata saw Peko shivering slightly beside him.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Fuyuhiko,” he returned calmly. He saw the gangster’s mouth turn upward into a sneer, but pushed on. “We’re not people who do good things because we want something in return, like people you and Peko often deal with. We do good things because we see someone we care about in pain, and we want to help them.”

Hinata took the gangster’s silence as encouragement; at least he did not resume that frightening laughter.

“We can all see that whatever you’re holding inside of you is breaking you, but we can’t help you unless you allow us to, and tell us what is bothering you. At least,” Hinata swallowed heavily, conscious of every word he was saying, as if the words were echoing in the room, after he had said them.

“At least you could tell _me_. Please, Fuyuhiko, you’ve had me worrying about you all this time. You trust me, don’t you?”

The silence after Hinata’s question was deafening. He dreaded the answer, and yet as second after second went by, he became more and more eager to hear it, even if it was not what he wanted to hear. The silence on Fuyuhiko’s part was destroying him. Fuyuhiko licked his lips slowly, then signed wearily.

“It’s not that straightforward, Hinata.”

Hinata felt his heart sink. He watched as Fuyuhiko slowly raised his eyes to meet Hinata’s own. He wasn’t surprised to see them red, and the golden pupils dull and worn. 

“It’s personal to me, Hinata, a part of my memories that has been fucking with me ever since Ibuki was set on that carolling, and …” Having stopped, Fuyuhiko struggled to find the right words, fidgeting his hands incessantly. Finally, giving up, he said it outright:

“It’s to do with Natsumi.”

“I understand,” Hinata replied, and realised that he did. He had suspected that Fuyuhiko’s secrecy had something to do with his family, and he himself had had memories of his own, with his own family, that he’d rather soon forget. 

Fuyuhiko continued, his voice soft:

“Before she died, she, well, loved carolling, and Christmas in general. She always wanted to get everyone in the clan to do it. She also had this stash of tinsel and wreaths stored away somewhere, and she’d get them all out just a few days before Christmas Eve, and put them all up around the house, when no one was around, so we’d return to a house that looked like it was from some sort of Winter Wonderland.

“But then there was the carolling. She’d go all out on the days leading up to Christmas Eve, decorating herself with all those annoying costumes and singing all those songs; she especially loved dressing as an angel, of all things. The carolling would sound really fucking annoying from anyone else, but from her they’re not. Well, not for the first few times, anyway. She was, in a way, with all that stupid enthuaism, part of something that held everyone together. My parents did not get along with each other even then, but, around Christmas time, even they’d make a special effort to get along. Everybody else was all the happier for it, too.”

Fuyuhiko signed, and paused for a moment, before continuing. 

“You haven’t seen the real Natsumi, until you’ve seen her at Christmas. It was the only time when she _really_ would let her guard down, if only for a few short weeks. Of course, those were the good days. You already know what happened to her.”

Hinata felt uncomfortable standing beside Fuyuhiko, besides the bed. He wanted desperately to console Fuyuhiko, but feared the yakuza’s anger. Fuyuhiko was now silent, with his back to him, staring at the wall of his dormitory. It was as if he had suddenly seen something incredibly interesting inscribed on the wall; only the uncomfortable way in which he was sitting conveyed his internal emotional conflict.

“Look, Fuyuhiko, you need -”

“You just don’t know how fucking hard it is, do you Hinata?”

The words cut deep, and Hinata felt himself suddenly disoriented. Fuyuhiko had turned round again, and his eyes aggressively bored into Hinata’s. 

“You’ve never had a sister, let alone having a dead one! Think of that before you start acting so goddamn haughty, or I’ll fucking-”

“You’ll what?” Hinata retorted, and for a moment the two of them were in a silent stand-off, eyes locked and breathing thinly through their teeth. Hinata realised that he did not want this to tear up their relationship, and yet the only way to heal it was to tear off the bandaid quickly.

“I can’t help you if you refuse it yourself. You’ve been hiding from everyone for this long, and you’re destroying much more than just yourself. What about _us_?” He heard his voice break on the last syllable.  
Something in Fuyuhiko seemed to break, as well. Hinata saw the inferno in his eyes die down, into smouldering cinders, and the further, until only ashes seemed to remain.

“I’ll think about it, but please… leave.”

It was barely above a whisper, but Hinata was beyond it at this point. He left.

\---

The woman seemed shocked when she opened her door to see a group of eccentric high-schoolers singing carols off-key, at her doorstep in the evening. However, Hinata gave her some credit for at least not screaming, or calling the police immediately. He considered it an improvement from the other previous households they had visited. 

Ibuki was at the front, of course, plowing through _'Santa Claus is Coming to Town'_ , with her original Santa hat replaced by flimsy plastic reindeer horns. The others stood awkwardly beside her, some self-consciously leaning away from her, others notably opening and closing their mouths, only pretending to sing. Hinata was wearing a crumpled purple jumper, standing adjacent to Chiaki, who was giving only a half-hearted effort herself. He was glad that they were in the back row, and beside Nekomaru and Akane, both of whom were bawling lyrics at the top of their lungs, terribly off-key. It drew attention away from himself and Chiaki, giving them the opportunity to remain relatively inconspicuous.

“So he didn’t come?” Chiaki said, looking briefly around. There were no signs of Peko or Fuyuhiko. 

“No,” Hinata signed. “He didn’t. It proved to be too much for him.”

”I kind of understand him,” Chiaki said, in an attempt to console Hinata. “Sometimes, facing what makes you uncomfortable is difficult. You don’t always succeed.”

Hinata gave a nod of assent. Without Fuyuhiko, he felt empty and also worried. He couldn’t bring himself to completely relax; his mind returned back incessantly to the one image.  
_  
Fuyuhiko was sitting on his bed, broken and defeated. He asked Hinata to leave. And Hinata, had regrettably left. He felt he could kick himself. Now that his one chance had gone, he could not disturb Fuyuhiko again. He only had the hope that what he did was enough.  
_  
Meanwhile, up at the front, Teruteru was excitedly singing along next to Ibuki; he was dressed in a Santa costume, and was also acting like an inebriated shopping centre Santa. He and Ibuki practically radiated energy, and gained encouragement from the other. 

_“He sees you when you’re sleeping!”_ Teruteru crooned, his eyes exhibiting a deep excitement that would have caused most people to back away quickly.

 _“He knows when you’re awake!”_ Ibuki returned. _“He knows when you’ve been bad or good-”_

 _“Sooooo be good for goodness’ sake!”_ Teruteru chirped, with an additional lusty wink at the puzzled woman. 

The song soon ended, to Hinata’s relief, and they accepted the woman’s donations ( _probably paying us away,_ Hinata thought, embarrassed on behalf of everyone in the class).

“Good grief,” Hinata muttered, as Ibuki thanked the woman, who speechlessly remained at the door of the house, until the group was past her driveway, before quickly shutting her door. “How long do you think it'll be until we’re all fined for indecent exposure or for being a public nuisance?”

“Too long,” Chaki signed. “That, and Teruteru is probably going to scar many more young children, who mistook him for Santa Claus.”

There was a spot of cold on his cheeks, and Hinata realised that, for the first time this week, it was snowing. Tiny flakes landed on his snowcoat, on the pavement, on everyone else. Everyone stopped to savour the moment they were in. 

“It’s so wonderful!” Sonia exclaimed; Gundham put an arm around her. 

“Come, let us explore this mysterious wonderland of ice!” He exclaimed, leading Sonia away from the group, and towards a nearby bushland. Kazuichi trailed behind them, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. 

Hinata sighed; he felt restrained, unable to join in. 

“I didn’t want to come, you know,” Hinata said, assuming Chiaki was still by his side, “I was worried about-”

“Well, you’re here now, bastard, so you might as well stay ‘till it’s over!”

It took a moment for Hinata to process the voice; his mind seemed to have encountered a malicious glitch. Even Chiaki was momentarily stunned. They turned around, and saw, to Hinata’s joy, a flash of gold, with the slightest of sparks within them.

Fuyuhiko was standing behind them, dressed as an angel, with Peko by his side, who was dressed as an elf. A look at Peko told Hinata that the worst was over; she looked markedly better from when he last saw her, and she had on a genuine smile. As soon as Hinata’s eyes met Fuyuhiko, the Yakuza gave him a sheepish grin, before muttering:

“Sorry, Hajime. Guess you were right.”

“How so?” Hajime mustered; he felt relief wash through him, and felt the powerful urge to laugh brazenly and merrily, like everyone else was.

“Natsumi would have wanted it this way,” Fuyuhiko said, looking steadily at Hajime; the snowflakes falling around them blended in seamlessly with his costume. “Though she wouldn’t have shown it, she would have been hurting to see me all torn up about her.” He grimaced. “Besides, I realised I haven’t been the most supportive boyfriend ever. Leaving you to worry alone about me wasn’t proper behaviour.”  
“I understand, Fuyuhiko. You were suffering.” Hinata said, offering a smile. Fuyuhiko leaned up, and gingerly kissed Hinata gently on the cheek, where the first snowflakes fell. It was warm and inviting, and Hinata felt heaven-blessed. 

“Who’s thatttt!?” Ibuki screeched at the front of the group, and Fuyuhiko was soon the middle of attention. Although reluctant to be viewed by everyone, Fuyuhiko eventually gave a nervous chuckle that definitely didn’t make Hinata swoon inside. Even Hiyoko gave Fuyuhiko a comment on his outfit that could actually be interpreted in a nice way.

Hinata still couldn’t quite believe in this miracle, even when Fuyuhiko gently put an arm around him, and led him to where the rest of the group were congregating near the porch of another poor victim’s home.

‘I’ll stand beside you, Hajime,” Hinata could hear Fuyuhiko say, before they were both standing in the back row. Nekomaru gave Fuyuhiko a pat on the shoulder, which nearly sent the yakuza crashing into Kazuichi in front of him, the same way as it did for Hinata. Luckily for everyone involved, he managed to catch himself in time. Chiaki gave Hinata a grin from his other side, besides Peko; for the first time that night, he returned it in full.

“Everybody ready?” Ibuki said loudly, causing the owner of the house, a couple with a 5 year old toddler, (thankfully, the toddler was not near to Teruteru), to jolt slightly. Grinning apologetically, and hoping they could see him, Hinata joined his hand with Fuyuhiko’s, as together the group launched into the next song. Hinata could hear the yakuza singing almost as energetically as he was from the first line.

_“Have yourself a merry little Christmas …”_


End file.
